Hello, as flights to Madrid are much cheaper than those to Malaga, we are thinking of flying into Madrid next summer then driving down to the coast. Can anyone recommend a car hire company at the airport please? Or any to avoid. We would need a second driver on the policy and would be looking at around three weeks' hire. Many thanks.

Just in case others don't come in soon with more relevant answers, I'll start the ball...

I've flown into and out of Madrid, but used a connecting flight to/from Malaga so I've never hired in Madrid. Of the big names, Alamo/Enterprise have always been good to me in various locations and relatively cheaper. The much cheaper alternatives, in Malaga at least, have been getting on my nerves for years. An agent site that I could recommend to minimise your exposure to the worst tricks is Zest Car Rental. I had a look for Madrid Airport and they use Centauro. I've had them a few times in Malaga. Not super great on the handover process but quick enough when handing back and I haven't experienced attempts to conjure up pseudo-damages on return. There are some stinkers in AGP, but they might be OK at Madrid for all I know so I won't throw an "avoid" out there.

Have you searched Madrid Airport car hire recommendations on TripAdvisor? There's always the odd moaner, but a solid tranche of red flags would give you a heads-up.